2017 Red Bull Ring Feature Race
The 2017 Red Bull Ring Feature Race, otherwise known as the 2017 Spielberg Race 1, was the ninth race of the 2017 FIA Formula Two Championship, staged at the Red Bull Ring on the 8 July 2017.'GP2 SERIES 2017 SEASON CALENDAR REVEALED', fiaformula2.com, (FIA Formula 2, 27/01/2017), http://www.fiaformula2.com/News-Room/News/2017/01_January/GP2-Series-2017-season-calendar-revealed/, (Accessed 12/07/2018) The race, staged in support of the 2017 Austrian Grand Prix, would see Charles Leclerc claim another impressive victory to extend his Championship lead.'LECLERC SOARS TO FEATURE VICTORY', fiaformula2.com, (FIA Formula Two, 08/07/2017), http://www.fiaformula2.com/News-Room/News/2017/07_July/Leclerc-soars-to-feature-victory/, (Accessed 03/10/2018) The Monegasque ace had started the weekend in typical fashion, sweeping to his fifth straight pole position in qualifying by a healthy margin.'LECLERC MAKES IT FIVE IN AUSTRIA', fiaformula2.com, (FIA Formula Two, 07/07/2017), http://www.fiaformula2.com/News-Room/News/2017/07_July/Leclerc-Makes-it-Five-in-Austria/, (Accessed 03/10/2018) Sérgio Sette Câmara came closest to deposing Leclerc at the head of the field, only to be disqualified after the session, meaning Leclerc's Prema Racing teammate Antonio Fuoco would start from second. Fuoco looked to have grabbed the lead at the start of the race, making an initially better getaway before Leclerc swept ahead into the first corner. Behind, Oliver Rowland made a poor start and duly slipped down the order, with Alexander Albon claiming the Brit's former third place. Leclerc duly set about building a lead over his teammate early on, leaving Fuoco to defend from the chasing pack. However, the Italian himself would also manage to escape unmolested, meaning Rowland became the centre of attention as he battled back on an alternate tyre strategy. Indeed, having made a poor start Rowland decided to make an early stop, switching to soft Pirelli tyres from his original supersofts. He duly managed to pick up places as the rest of the field pitted, with a series of overtakes on those on the opposite strategy leaving him a de facto third. That would become second, however, for a slow stop for Fuoco saw him drop behind the Brit with ten laps to go. Leclerc, meanwhile, would rejoin with the lead and duly begin a slow cruise, just as Fuoco began to close on Rowland, with Nicholas Latifi catching them both. A final few thrilling laps would see both Fuoco and Latifi dive past Rowland, before Latifi set about attacking the young Italian despite his tyres being significantly older. Indeed, with three laps to go the Canadian ace duly snatch second with a dive into turn four, before blasting away to try and catch the cruising Leclerc out front. Ultimately, however, the Monegasque racer had enough in hand to keep the DAMS at bay, and duly cruised home to claim his fourth victory of the season. Latifi was therefore left a satisfied second ahead of Fuoco, with Rowland just falling shy of the Italian on the final lap. Background Formula Two headed to the Styrian Mountains for its fifth pair of races, once again supporting Formula One at the Austrian Grand Prix. The Red Bull Ring remained unchanged for the combined visit, with no extra DRS zones added to the layout. Pirelli, meanwhile, would bring to similarly familiar tyre compounds, with their soft and supersoft tyres handed to teams. There were changes to the entry list, however, with Alexander Albon returning to to ART Grand Prix having missed the Baku races due to injury.'RAFFAELE MARCIELLO SIGNS WITH TRIDENT', fiaformula2.com, (FIA Formula Two, 06/07/2017), http://www.fiaformula2.com/News-Room/News/2017/07_July/Raffaele-Marciello-signs-with-Trident/, (Accessed 03/10/2018) Elsewhere, Raffaele Marciello was handed his first drive in F2, re-joining Trident in place of Sergio Canamasas. That was because Canamasas had moved on to replace Johnny Cecotto, Jr. at Rapax, with the Venezuelan racer calling time on his racing career. Charles Leclerc had once again extended the his lead in the Championship after the Baku Sprint, moving 42 points clear of his nearest challenger. Indeed, with 48 points on offer at each round, Leclerc could almost afford to miss an entire weekend and still lead the Championship, with Oliver Rowland and Artem Markelov the only drivers capable of snatching the lead if he did so. As such, with two thirds of the season still to run it seemed as if it was Leclerc's title to lose, with everyone else in a fight for second. In the Teams' Championship it was still Russian Time who led the way, holding onto their lead by just three points from DAMS. Prema Racing had dragged themselves closer in third, once again exclusively due to Leclerc's efforts, with ART Grand Prix nudging against the 100 point barrier in fourth. Fifth place was still held by Rapax, while Pertamina Arden were slowly climbing up the field in sixth. Entry List The full entry list for the is displayed below: Practice Qualifying Report Results The final qualifying result for the are outlined below: ** Câmara was excluded from the results of qualifying after failing to provide a fuel sample.'SETTE CAMARA DISQUALIFIED', fiaformula2.com, (FIA Formula Two, 07/07/2017), http://www.fiaformula2.com/News-Room/News/2017/07_July/Sette-Camara-disqualified/, (Accessed 03/10/2018) Grid Race Report Results The final classification of the is displayed below: *'Bold' indicates a driver started from pole. *''Italics'' indicate that a driver set fastest lap. Milestones * Debut Formula Two race for Raffaele Marciello. * Charles Leclerc claimed his fifth straight pole position. * Leclerc secured his fourth victory in F2. * Prema Racing claimed their fourth F2 triumph. ** Also their thirteenth win at GP2/F2 level. * Nobuharu Matsushita recorded his first fastest lap in F2. ** Also the Japanese racer's fifth at GP2/F2 level. * Maiden points finish for Sean Gelael. Standings Pole and victory once again ensured that Charles Leclerc extended his lead in the Championship, the Monegasque heading into the Sprint Race with a huge 59 point lead. Oliver Rowland was his closest challenger with more than half the season still to race, with Artem Markelov a further ten points back. Elsewhere, Nicholas Latifi had moved into fourth ahead of Nobuharu Matsushita, the latter having displaced Luca Ghiotto to get into the top five. In the Teams' Championship it was Prema Racing who now led the way, their double podium carrying them straight into the lead. DAMS had retained second as Prema and Russian Time swapped places, with the Russian squad suddenly 39 points off the lead having arrived with 3 in hand. There were no major changes further down the order, although ART Grand Prix had passed the 100 point mark in fourth. Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Race articles Category:Austria Category:2017 Feature Races Category:2017 Formula Two Season